BS Biology: Lebanon Valley College
BSN Thomas Jefferson University
MScN University of Toronto
PhD University of South Carolina
Post-Doc-John A. Hartford Foundation Building Academic Geriatric Nursing
Capacity
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC
Nursing Theory Guided Research, Practice, and Education
Unitary Caring Nursing Science
Rogers Science of Unitary Human Beings
Dispiritedness and Mild Depression in Later Life
Testing Written Emotional Expression to enhance Meaning-Making
61
Scopus Publications
12102
Scholar Citations
37
Scholar h-index
78
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Evidence for nursing interventions to promote family integrity: a rapid review Marcos Venícios de Oliveira Lopes, Viviane Martins da Silva, Cheryl Wagner, Karen Dunn Lopez, Leslie Arends, Mary Clarke, Alba Lúcia Bottura Leite de Barros, Howard Karl Butcher Journal of Research in Nursing, 2026 Background: Family integrity is a vital determinant of health, influencing emotional, social and clinical outcomes. The nursing intervention ‘Family Integrity Promotion’ has been included in nursing classifications since 1992 but lacks systematic evaluation of its scientific foundation. Aims: This study aimed to assess the level of evidence supporting the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) intervention ‘Family Integrity Promotion’ to inform evidence-based nursing practice. Methods: A rapid review was conducted using Scopus and PubMed, following the Population – Concept – Context framework and Plüddemann’s rapid review protocol. The searches were conducted up to October 2024, with no restrictions on publication year. Seventeen studies meeting inclusion criteria were analysed using the Qualified Scientific Information tool. Results: Most studies were qualitative or descriptive ( n = 13, 76.5%), with weighted evidence concentrated at clinical-descriptive (level C) and theoretical (level D) classifications. Only two studies addressed all 23 intervention activities, both generating theoretical-level evidence. Conclusions: Despite limited high-level evidence, partial findings support the intervention’s clinical relevance. Strengthening methodological rigour in future research is essential for advancing its empirical validation and implementation.
Smartphone Mental Health Application Use Among Thai Older Adults: A Thematic Analysis Guided by Locsin’s Theory of Technological Competency as Caring in Nursing Rangsiman Soonthornchaiya, Howard K. Butcher, Rattiya Thong-on Nursing Science Quarterly, 2025 The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of mental health applications in smartphones use among Thai older adults within the context of Locsin’s theory of technological competency as caring in nursing. Participants were 24 older adults living in the community. Two focus groups and semistructured interviews that were tape-recorded were used. Each focus group took 2 to 3 hours with 20-minute break times. Data were transcribed and analyzed using theory-directed thematic analysis. Five major themes emerged: (1) Knowledge about mental health transforms ways of caring for self; (2) Using smartphone enhances relationships with others; (3) Resistance-acceptance of using technology moment to moment; (4) Using technology presents challenges; and (5) Desire for technology to be user friendly. Each theme was linked and interpreted from the perspective of concepts in Locsin’s theory. The findings can help to develop the content and functions of mental health applications in smartphones.
A Theory-Guided Literature Review: A Knowledge Synthesis Methodology Andra S. Opalinski, Laurie A. Martinez, Howard Butcher, Tara Bertulfo, Daphnee Stewart, Rita Gengo Journal of Nursing Education, 2025 Background There are no detailed, step-by-step descriptions of a process for conducting rigorous literature reviews for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) projects. Method After a search for a theory-guided literature review (TGLR) process for practice projects resulted in no established process, authors created a methodology by review of PRISMA guidelines, nursing theory experts' feedback, and a Think-Aloud process. Results A 10-step formal process for conducting a TGLR to support practice change was established. Conclusion The aims of developing this methodology include providing a formal process for DNP students to apply nursing theories to guide literature reviews and building nursing knowledge from a nursing disciplinary perspective to support practice change projects. [ J Nurs Educ . 2025;64(5):279–285.]
Disciplinary Thinking for the Scholarship of Nursing Research Howard K. Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly, 2025 The author critiques the current American Association of Colleges of Nursing definition of nursing scholarship for its lack of emphasis on building discipline-specific knowledge. The author defines nursing scholarship as scholarly activities and formal investigations designed to generate, synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate discipline-specific knowledge that advances nursing’s societal commitments and responsibilities in promoting human health, human betterment, and wellbecoming. Nursing scholarship guided by disciplinary thinking consists of scholarship that is (a) informed by nursing philosophy; (b) framed within nursing’s metaparadigm concepts; (c) situated within a nursing paradigm; (d) conceptualized within a nursing conceptual framework or nursing midrange theory; and (e) focused on, depending on one’s paradigmatic and theoretical perspective, developing and testing concepts in nursing classification systems.
Conceptualizing the DREAM Model within Watson's Transpersonal Theory of Human Caring for Advancing Adolescent Mental Health Nursing Precious Chibuike Chukwuere, Howard K. Butcher, Emmerentia Du Plessis Journal of Holistic Nursing, 2025 Purpose: This paper grounds the DREAM model, a practice-based framework developed from research on caring presence, aimed at enhancing holistic nursing care through being fully present and engaged with the patient, within Watson's Transpersonal Theory of Human Caring and the Unitary Caring Science worldview. The DREAM model was subsequently operationalized as a framework for providing care to adolescents with mental health conditions using the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Design/Methods: The key concepts in the DREAM: D edication; R espect through relationship; E nvironment; A rt of nursing; and M otivation were linked to and conceptualized within concepts in Watson's Transpersonal Theory of Human Caring to demonstrate how the DREAM model can be philosophically grounded and practically operationalized within a caring science perspective. The model was then operationalized by linking the key concepts to five priority NIC interventions. Findings: The findings underscore how evidence-based nursing actions can enhance caring presence and relational engagement in healthcare, particularly in adolescent mental health care, creating a synthesis of caring theory with NIC. Conclusion: Through the grounding of the DREAM model in Watson’s theory and its operationalization using the NIC, the authors invite a new discourse on advancing adolescent mental health care.
A design science research framework for evidence levels in the nursing interventions classification Marcos Venícios de Oliveira Lopes, Viviane Martins da Silva, Cheryl Wagner, Karen Dunn Lopez, Leslie Arends, Mary Clarke, Alba Lúcia Bottura Leite de Barros, Howard Karl Butcher Journal of Research in Nursing, 2025 Background: The Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) is a comprehensive, researched-based classification of 614 interventions whose responses can be influenced by a complex range of physiological, psychological, social and cultural conditions which present a challenge to establishing a specific level of evidence when findings are from studies using varied research contexts and methods. Aims: To develop criteria for establishing evidence levels for interventions included in the NIC according to research designs commonly used in nursing. Methods: A Design Science Research (DSR) approach was developed in four stages: (a) problem awareness, (b) solution suggestion, (c) artefact development, and (d) conclusion with presentation of the solution. Results: Six criteria were established to determine the quality information produced by each paper: level of analysis, study design, temporality, unit of analysis, information capture strategy, and comparison strategy. An evidence level classification for the NIC based on the accumulation of qualified information identified for an intervention was established in relation to the four levels, each with four sublevels. Conclusions: This study develops criteria and a classification system to assess evidence levels for the NIC, enhancing knowledge on the reliability and effectiveness of interventions in clinical practice and patient care.
A Unitary Caring Theory Perspective of Adolescent and Young Adult Experiences of Resilience Laurie A. Martinez, Andra S. Opalinski, Howard K. Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly, 2024 The major aim of this study was to understand the experience of resilience in adolescents and young adults within the context of a unitary caring science and to generate insights into ways to cultivate resilience in adolescents and young adults who have experienced adversity. Four major essences emerged and were synthesized into one statement. Maintaining hope and optimism for a promising future is acknowledging awareness and acceptance and experiencing connectedness while embracing power in the situation. The essences were interpreted within a theory of unitary caring.
Heuristic Research in Nursing Science Howard K. Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly, 2024 The purpose of this article is to reintroduce and describe the processes and phases of heuristic inquiry and to illustrate how the method can advance nursing science. Heuristic inquiry is a rigorous, systematic, phenomenologically orientated research method developed by Clark Moustakas for investigating, discovering, and understanding the nature and meaning of living experiences. Heuristic inquiry invites the inclusion of the researcher’s autobiographical living of experience being investigated honoring the personal experiences of the phenomenon from self and each participant in the research study. The author proposes that heuristic inquiry be used in nursing science by including a theoretical interpretive process connecting the thematic essences of the nursing conceptual framework guiding the study. Nursing theory-guided heuristic research advances the study of caring for persons experiencing human-environmental-health transitions to enhance human betterment and wellbecoming.
The Role of Metaphor in Hermeneutic Research Howard K. Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly, 2024 The identification and interpretation of metaphor is useful to hermeneutic research. Metaphor is a way of conceiving one concept in terms of another and serves as a function of understanding. The author explores the rise of hermeneutics research and its relevance to nurse artsciencing. Metaphors are a creative strategy hermeneutic researchers can use to analyze and interpret data, and serve as a powerful strategy to represent complex realities, illuminate unnoticed aspects of a phenomenon, and provide depth of meaning to the understanding of human experiences.
Originating Research Ideas Howard K. Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly, 2024 Research aimed at generating new knowledge is the heart of the scholarship of discovery. The author of this paper explores how original research ideas can be generated for formal investigations and artsciencing. Curiosity and creativity are presented as “seeds” for originating ideas, and seven patterns (adjacent possible, liquid networks, the slow hunch, serendipity, error, exaptation, and platforms) are described as synergistic potentiators for geminating original research ideas.
Brazilian Nursing Process Research Network contributions for assistance in the COVID-19 pandemic Alba Lúcia Bottura Leite de Barros, Viviane Martins da Silva, Rosimere Ferreira Santana, Agueda Maria Ruiz Zimmer Cavalcante, Allyne Fortes Vitor, Amália de Fatima Lucena, Anamaria Alves Napoleão, Camila Takao Lopes, Cândida Caniçali Primo, Elenice Valentim Carmona, Erika Christiane Marocco Duran, Howard Karl Butcher, Juliana de Lima Lopes, Leidy Johanna Rueda Díaz, Marcia Regina Cubas, Marcos Antônio Gomes Brandão, Marcos Venícios de Oliveira Lopes, Maria Miriam Lima da Nóbrega, Miriam de Abreu Almeida, Priscilla Alfradique de Souza, Rita de Cassia Gengo e Silva Butcher, Rodrigo Jensen, Rudval Souza da Silva, Sheila Coelho Ramalho Vasconcelos Morais, Tania Couto Machado Chianca, Vinicius Batista Santos Revista Brasileira De Enfermagem, 2020
Selecting a standardized terminology for the electronic health record that reveals the impact of nursing on patient care Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 2008
Mid-range Theory for the Nursing Diagnosis Ineffective Infant Suck-Swallow Response S Calixto Gomes, RCGS Butcher, LAR Vieira, L Alexandrino da Silva, ... International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 20473087261443264 , 2026 2026
Evidence for nursing interventions to promote family integrity: a rapid review MV de Oliveira Lopes, VM da Silva, C Wagner, KD Lopez, L Arends, ... Journal of Research in Nursing, 17449871261419406 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Conceptualizing the DREAM Model within Watson's Transpersonal Theory of Human Caring for Advancing Adolescent Mental Health Nursing PC Chukwuere, HK Butcher, ED Plessis Journal of Holistic Nursing, 08980101251404153 , 2025 2025
A design science research framework for evidence levels in the nursing interventions classification MV de Oliveira Lopes, VM da Silva, C Wagner, KD Lopez, L Arends, ... Journal of Research in Nursing, 17449871251392092 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Smartphone mental health application use among Thai older adults: A thematic analysis guided by Locsin’s theory of technological competency as caring in nursing R Soonthornchaiya, HK Butcher, R Thong-On Nursing Science Quarterly 38 (3), 294-305 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
A theory-guided literature review: A knowledge synthesis methodology AS Opalinski, LA Martinez, H Butcher, T Bertulfo, D Stewart, R Gengo Journal of Nursing Education 64 (5), 279-285 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Disciplinary Thinking for the Scholarship of Nursing Research HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 38 (1), 8-17 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
A unitary caring theory perspective of adolescent and young adult experiences of resilience LA Martinez, AS Opalinski, HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 37 (4), 353-364 , 2024 2024 Citations: 2
Heuristic Research in Nursing Science HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 37 (3), 204-211 , 2024 2024 Citations: 3
The role of metaphor in hermeneutic research HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 37 (2), 105-108 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
The Uncertainty in Family Caregivers of Hospitalized Persons With a Stroke in Saudi Arabia S Alselami, HK Butcher, J Longo ADVANCES IN NURSING SCIENCE 47 (1), 104-120 , 2024 2024
The uncertainty in family caregivers of hospitalized persons with a stroke in Saudi Arabia: Unitary caring perspective S Alselami, HK Butcher, J Longo Advances in Nursing Science 47 (1), 104-120 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Originating research ideas HK Butcher Nursing science quarterly 37 (1), 9-17 , 2024 2024 Citations: 2
Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)-8e CM Wagner, HK Butcher, MF Clarke Elsevier Health Sciences , 2024 2024 Citations: 80
Cultivating awe: A means to inspire sciencing HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 36 (4), 325-332 , 2023 2023 Citations: 3
Biographical narrative research from the perspective of the science of unitary human beings: a methodological approach Y Castaño Mora, BE Arias López, HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 36 (3), 221-231 , 2023 2023 Citations: 9
A unitary caring theory perspective of labyrinth walking research HK Butcher Nursing Science Quarterly 36 (2), 116-125 , 2023 2023 Citations: 5
Factores que influyen en la alfabetización en salud de los pacientes con enfermedad arterial coronaria AC Costa, AP Conceição, HK Butcher, RCGS Butcher Revista latino-americana de enfermagem 31, e3878 , 2023 2023 Citations: 12
Factors that influence health literacy in patients with coronary artery disease AC Costa, AP Conceição, HK Butcher Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem 31, e3878 , 2023 2023 Citations: 38
Fatores que influenciam o letramento em saúde em pacientes com doença arterial coronariana AC Costa, AP Conceição, HK Butcher, RCG Butcher Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem 31, e3878 , 2023 2023 Citations: 5
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Clasificación de intervenciones de enfermería (NIC) 5th Edition GM Bulechek, HK Butcher, J Dochterman Elsevier Health Sciences , 2009 2009 Citations: 3865
Nursing interventions classification (NIC) 7e HK Butcher, GM Bulechek, JMC Dochterman, CM Wagner Elsevier , 2018 2018 Citations: 2726
Classificação das intervenções de enfermagem (NIC) 5th Edition GM Bulechek, HK Butcher, JMC Dochterman Elsevier , 2010 2010 Citations: 824
Interrelaciones NANDA, NOC y NIC: diagnósticos enfermeros, resultados e intervenciones G Bulechek, H Butcher, J McCloskey-Dochterman, M Maas, S Moorhead, ... Elsevier , 2007 2007 Citations: 404
The experience of caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease HK Butcher, PA Holkup, KC Buckwalter Western journal of nursing research 23 (1), 33-55 , 2001 2001 Citations: 328
Vínculos de NOC y NIC a NANDA-I y diagnósticos médicos 3e M Johnson, S Moorhead, G Bulechek, H Butcher, M Maas, E Swanson Elsevier Health Sciences Spain , 2012 2012 Citations: 205
Thematic analysis of the experience of making a decision to place a family member with Alzheimer's disease in a special care unit¶ HK Butcher, PA Holkup, M Park, M Maas Research in Nursing & Health 24 (6), 470-480 , 2001 2001 Citations: 193
NOC and NIC linkages to NANDA-I and clinical conditions: supporting critical thinking and quality care E Johnson, M., Moorhead, S., Bulchek, G., Butcher, H., Maas, E., & Swanson (No Title) , 2011 2011 Citations: 192
A toolkit for ethical and culturally sensitive research: An application with indigenous communities CE Burnette, S Sanders, HK Butcher, JT Rand Ethics and social welfare 8 (4), 364-382 , 2014 2014 Citations: 191
NIC Classificação das intervenções de enfermagem 6e B Bulechek, HK Butcher, J Dochterman, C Wagner Elsevier Brasil , 2015 2015 Citations: 173
NANDA, NOC, and NIC linkages: Nursing diagnoses, outcomes, & interventions 2e M Johnson, GM Bulechek, JMC Dochterman, ML Maas, S Moorhead, ... Mosby , 2006 2006 Citations: 169
Ligações NANDA-NOC-NIC: condições clínicas: suporte ao raciocínio e assistência de qualidade 2e M Johnson, S Moorhead, G Bulechek, H Butcher, M Maas, E Swanson Ligações NANDA-NOC-NIC: condições clínicas: suporte ao raciocínio e … , 2013 2013 Citations: 119
Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) 6th Indonesian Edition GM Bulechek, HK Butcher, JM Dochterman, CM Wagner Singapore: Elisevier Singapore , 2016 2016 Citations: 118
A thematic analysis of Korean family caregivers' experiences in making the decision to place a family member with dementia in a long‐term care facility M Park, HK Butcher, ML Maas Research in nursing & health 27 (5), 345-356 , 2004 2004 Citations: 118
Clasificación de intervenciones de enfermería (NIC) 7e HK Butcher, GM Bulechek, JM Dochterman, CM Wagner Elsevier , 2018 2018 Citations: 115
Classificação das intervenções de enfermagem (NIC) HK Butcher, GM Bulechek, JM Dochterman, CM Wagner GEN-Grupo Editorial Nacional SA, 7a ed, Rio de Janeiro-RJ , 2020 2020 Citations: 113
Evidence-based practice guideline: fall prevention for older adults C Kruschke, EHK Butcher Journal of gerontological nursing 43 (11), 15-21 , 2017 2017 Citations: 112
Evidence-based practice guideline: changing the practice of physical restraint use in acute care HW Lach, KM Leach, HK Butcher Journal of gerontological nursing 42 (2), 17-26 , 2016 2016 Citations: 111
Selecting a standardized terminology for the electronic health record that reveals the impact of nursing on patient care C Lundberg, J Warren, J Brokel, G Bulechek, H Butcher, ... Online journal of nursing informatics 12 (2) , 2008 2008 Citations: 102
Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC)-8e CM Wagner, HK Butcher, MF Clarke Elsevier Health Sciences , 2024 2024 Citations: 80